Tractor and rudder hitch



Feb. 10, 1942. T. P. #LYNN m; 2,272,619 TRACTOR AND RUDDER HITCH I Filed March 26, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l D 7 o o 4 V N N O I I") a 3mm i 2 j k E;

- E m m INVENTORS no THEODORE. P. FLYNN FSN y RAYMOND E. NEILS t, 03W ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 10, 1942. T. P. FLYNN ET AL 2,272,619

TRACTOR AND RUDDER HITCH Filed March 26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS THEODORE P. FLYNN By} RAYMOND E. NE/LS ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 10, 1942. T. P. FLYNN EIAL 2,272,619

TRACTOR AND RUDDER HITCH Filed March 26, 1940 s 'sheetsfishee cs THEODORE P'. FLYNN Wr V.

W ATTORNEYS.

y RAYMOND E. NEILS,

Patented Feb. 10, 1942 TRACTOR. AND RUDDER nrrou Theodore 1. Flynn and Raymond E. Neils, Portland, reg., dedicated to the free use of the People in the territory of the United States Application March 26, 1940, Serial No. 325,990

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 5 Claims.

' This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883. as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described and claimed, if patented, maybe manufactured and used by or for the ,Govemment of the United States of America for governmental purposes without. the payment to use of any royalty thereon. Y

We hereby dedicate the invention herein described to the free use of the People in the territory of the United States to take efiect on the granting of a patent to us.

This invention relates to snow tractors, is more particularly concerned with means for guiding the tractor, and is an improvementover our copending application for patent, Serial No. 170,400. filed October 22, 1937.

In'our co-pending application, above-referred to, there is described means for steering a snow tractor by employing a trailing sled controlled by the operator of the tractor through power-operated means. In addition to utilizing the sled as a steering means, it is also capable of being used for carrying passengers and cargo.

Our present invention is concerned with a new means for connecting the sled to the tractor in order to obviate certain undesirable characteris-- tics heretofore encountered in this general method of steering snow tractors. The present invention permits entirely free movement of the tractor independent of the drawbar connecting the sled to the tractor and eliminates any pulldown at the rear of the tractor. This permits the front end of the-tractor to stay down in full contact with the snow, thereby increasing the tractive ability of the tractor.

The following description, considered together with the accompanying drawings, will disclose this invention more fully, its constructions,-arrangements, combinations, and operations of parts and further objects and advantages thereof will be apparent. I In the drawings: a j a Figure 1 "is a side elevational view of an embodiment of this invention, the tractor and steering sled being illustrated fragmentarily.

Figure 2 is a plane view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a partial section along the line 3-3" of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section along the line l-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a partial section along the line 55 Figure 2.

Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate diagrammatically the advantages of the invention. Figure 6 being 24 are rotatably mount d a rear view of the sled and tractor when the two are'disposed 6n different inclines; Figure 7 being a fragmentary plane view illustrating the relation of the tractor and sled when a turn is being negotiated; and Figure 8 being a side elevational' view showing the relative positions of tractor and sled when operating on a surface of uneven Referring with ings in which like numerals the embodiment illustrated comprises a yoke member indicated generally at 10, said yoke member comprising a pair oflongitudinal arms l-I straddling the rear end of the tractor, the rearward ends of said arms being secured to a transverse structural member 2. The forward ends of the arms H are secured to sleeves l8 said sleeves being rotatably mounted on stub shafts ll projecting laterally from theframe of the tractor by any suitable means. The means illuseach shaft H is flanged to provide a head It so that the sleeve I3 is held in position laterally between said head and the socket IS with sum cient play to permit it to rotate about the shaft it freely.

As illustrated in Figures 2 and 4, the middle of the transverse member l2 there is secured a horizontal sleeve bearing l9 within which a stub shaft is rotatably mounted. The rearward end of the shaft 20 issecured to a vertical sleeve bearing 2|. The forward end of the shaft 20 is threaded with which a nut 22 and washer 23 is associated to hold said shaft in position longitudinally. A pair of collar bearings 24 straddle the bearing 2| vertically. The bearings 24 are connected by means of brackets 25. A vertical pin 26 is disposed through the bearings 21 and 24, substantially as shown, whereby the bearings with respect tolthe bearings 2|. The upper end'ofthe pin, 26 is flanged to provide a head 21. and-the lower end is fitted with a cotter pin 28 to hold it in position. The connection between the shaft 20 and I the brackets comprises, in effect; a vertical knuckle joint.

ing.' The forward end of said yoke is integral with the brackets 25. Theyoke member is secured to the sled in a' hingable manner by means of lugs 3| fixed to the outer ends of the more particularity to the drawdesignate likeparts.

' To 'the forward end of the steering sled 29 .there isseoured a v-yoke 30 forwardly convergyoke ll said lugs being each pivoted to brackets 32 said brackets being fixed to the sled, substantially as shown.

The tractor is provided with powered shafts II and 34 disposed transversely on opposite sides of the tractor and slightly forward of the yoke l0.

Adjacent the outer end of each of the shafts 33 and 34 there is fixed a drum wheel 35 adapted for spooling a cable 36. On the forward ends of the arms 'll there is mounted cable sheaves 31 as close as possible to the pivot point. At the rearward ends of said arms ll there is also disposed fairleads 18 for said cables. The cables are threaded under the sheaves 31 through the fairleads 38 and anchored to yoke member 30, one on each end thereof, substantially as'shown.

The above arrangement provides three degrees of freedom between the tractor and the steeringsled, one permitting the steering sled to move vertically with respect to the tractor, the second permitting the sled to revolve in a horizontal plane with respect to the tractor, and the third permitting the sled to rotate about a lon'gitudinal center. The second degree of freedom, which permits the sled to revolve in the horizontal plane is the only one which is controlled by the operator, and this is accomplished through the medium of cables 36. Each cable is controlled independently by its corresponding cable drum wheel 35. The means for rotating said shafts 33 and 34 may be by any suitable arrangement from a take-ofi of the power plant of the tractor or independent prime mover. Such means are not here illustrated, but are fully shown in my abovementioned co-pending application for patent, said means comprising a transmission arrangement whereby power may be delivered to either of the shafts for winding up cable, and when power is applied to' one of said shafts the other shaft is Although in the above-described particular reierence was made to a snow tractor and trailing sled, it is to be understood that this invention is also applicable to other conventional types of tractors and trailers.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

unlimited pivotal movement to said sled, a horizontal stub shaft rotatably engaged with one of said yokes and vertically hinged to the other yoke.

2. The combination with a snow tractor having a slegl for steering the tractor, means for coupling said tractor and sled, said means comprising a pair of yoke members horizontally hinged for free and unlimited pivotal movement to the tractor and sled, respectively, a horizontal stub shaft rotatably engaged with one of said yoke members and vertically hinged to the other yoke member.

3. In a snow tractor, a steering device comprising a sled rudder, a pair of yoke draw bars horizontally hinged for free and unlimited pivotal movement to said tractor and rudder, re-

spectively, a horizontal shaft rotatably engaged with one of said draw bars and vertically hinged to the other draw bar, and means for controlling the horizontal relation between said rudder an tractor.

4. In a snow tractor, a steering device comprising a sled rudder, a pair of yoke draw bars horizontally hinged for free and unlimited pivotal movement to said tractor and rudder, respectively, a horizontal shaft rotatably engaged with one of said draw bars and vertically hinged to the other draw bar, a pair of cables having one end of each fixed to opposite sides of the draw bar associated with the rudder, and drums for independently spooling each of said cables, said drums being mounted on said tractor.

5. In a snow tractor, a steering device comprising a sled rudder, a pair of yoke draw bars horizontally hinged to said tractor and rudder, re-

spectively, a horizontal shaft rotatably engaged with one of said yokes and vertically hinged to the other yoke, a pair of cables having one and of each fixed to opposite sides of the rudder yr: drums for independently spooling each of Said cables, said drums being mounted on said trrhtox a vertical sheave mounted on each ride 0. tho tractor yoke to engage its correspondi cable vertically over the hinged point; of the Javier yoke, fairleads secured to the tractor yoke rearward of said sheaves, said cables being disposed through said fairleads.

'I'HEQDQRE P. FLYNN. RAYMOND E. NEILS. 

